Page 2840 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 22 November 1989
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MRS GRASSBY: Yes, I know. I will have to get back to you with those figures.
ACT Budget
MR MOORE: My question is to the Treasurer. Considering that she has promised a balanced budget to the ACT, will she be looking to alternative funding, further cuts, reducing the Treasurer's advance, or does she have some other tactic in mind for replacing the $5m that was lost from her budget?
MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, as I am sure all members of the Assembly are aware, the loss in terms of revenue brought about by the failure of the Business Franchise ("X" Videos) Bill is $2m for this year and $5m for a full year. The failure of that Bill yesterday does not affect the Government's resolve to achieve a balanced budget.
So, given that, there are a number of options available to the Government to achieve a balanced budget. Those options, as members should be aware, are to introduce another new revenue measure - and I do not know of any other revenue measure that is as simple and as effective as the one that was defeated yesterday - to increase the Government's borrowings, which I do not support, or to reduce expenditure. There are those three options. I do not find any of them very attractive and I do indeed intend to meet our commitment to a balanced budget.
I do not intend to jeopardise the strategy that the Government has announced, which is to encourage economic development through policies which reflect our commitment to social justice. I certainly do not intend to increase the Government's borrowing program. I do not regard that as a desirable option at all and I believe that, with the possible exception of Mr Duby and his party, that would be a widely held view within this Assembly.
Mr Speaker, I think the only answer that I can give at the moment is that I maintain the commitment to the balanced budget. That means that we will have to scrutinise all of our programs in an attempt to find the kinds of savings that the Assembly has imposed upon us. The Government will be considering all of the options and, in that consideration, we will be sticking to our policies of social justice and of maintaining levels of services.
I think it is appropriate to point out to the Assembly that the Appropriation Bill which is before us at the moment sets the level of expenditure under various programs, that those levels are maximum levels and, as I said, that we will be looking at all the programs to see how the loss of the $2m in this budget can be offset.
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